Honey used in wound dressings has been extensively discussed and taught in the art.
The applicants co-pending patent application, PCT/NZ2009/000232 teaches about the recent finding that honey in the context of wound dressings heals a wound via three distinct phases being an antimicrobial phase, an immune stimulation phase and an anti-inflammatory phase. As noted in this earlier application, the different phases may occur one after the other or in conjunction with one another, particularly in the case of the antimicrobial and immune stimulation phases. These distinct phases do however appear to be critical in providing the particular wound healing characteristics observed in honey.
This application is primarily centred on the immune stimulation or pro-inflammation phase of healing.
Inflammation is typically considered a negative or to be avoided action in the context of wound healing—i.e. why would you inflame an already inflamed wound? The applicants have found that inflammation at least in the honey wound healing context is in fact beneficial for most wound applications contrary to that expected, particularly when placed in context with the other phases of healing. As well as and distinct to anti-microbial effects, honey appears to prime or kick start the immune system into action via this second phase of healing, a characteristic not uncommon in some contexts with positive outcomes e.g. to address chronic or recalcitrant infections where the natural wound healing process has stalled for some reason or alternatively, to prompt a positive reaction such as that observed when probiotic bacteria are introduced to the gut. Many studies have also been produced showing how humans and animals such as mice primed via an immune stimulatory challenge often survive another microbial challenge better than mice not primed. The actual compound(s) responsible for the inflammatory effects are to the applicant's knowledge not described in the art.
Arabinogalactan (AG) is a biopolymer consisting of arabinose and galactose monosaccharides. Two classes exist in nature being plant arabinogalactans and microbial arabinogalactans.
In plants, AG is a major constituent of many gums including gum arabic, gum gutti and so on. AG is also found in Echinacea and other plant matter, typically in the amount of 0.1% weight or 100 μg/ml-200 μg/ml.
AG may be attached to proteins and the resulting arabinogalactan protein (AGP) functions as a signalling molecule between cells.
It should be appreciated from the above that it would be useful to have an identified immune-stimulant compound that may be isolated or selected for when tailoring a composition for medical applications such as topical formulations and which can be manipulated to be used in both the context of treating very sensitive wounds through to chronic or recalcitrant wounds. It is an object of the present to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
Further aspects and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.